2 September 2021

Andhra Style Chilli Chicken | Fiery-Hot & Irresistible

More often than not, when someone mentions Chilli Chicken, the mind goes to the Sino-Indian fusion creation. However, there is an authentic Indian Chicken dish, which in no modest terms, sends across the message that it too is a contender for the title of Chilli Chicken. Unlike its Sino-Indian counterpart, this one uses no sauces but predominantly all natural “green” ingredients. It’s gonna make you sweat, and it may make you cry! But, you will definitely keep coming back for more. Let’s see how to make the Andhra Style Chilli Chicken.

How to make Andhra Style Chilli Chicken

To begin with, remember that this one isn’t in anyway similar to the Sino-Indian Chilli Chicken wherein like most dishes from that cuisine, it is stir-fried at high heat. The Andhra Style Chilli Chicken, is cooked on a low flame, allowing all the flavours to infuse. For this dish, it is recommended to leave the skin on the chicken. The fat from the skin adds to the flavour of the dish. Use curry-cut pieces of chicken for this dish – they should be neither too large nor too small.

Although, one can directly start cooking the dish, I would recommend marinating the chicken atleast for a couple of hours. Mix the chicken with sliced green chillies (do not skimp on their quantity) and some sliced onion followed by ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, salt and coconut oil. Coat the chicken well with these ingredients and let it marinate.

From here, we move on to making the Chilli paste – the most important component of this dish which lends it the signature Andhra Style Chilli Chicken appearance and also the flavour. This is probably one of the easiest chilli pastes ever made, yet packs oodles of flavour and heat. All we need for this are some fresh coriander leaves (use the stalks too), some more green chillies, salt and some oil. Blend these together without using any water, to a bright green paste.

As you must have already observed, this dish uses a whole lot of green chillies. This is a dish which packs a whole lot of heat and the chillies are essential to achieve this. However, if you are intimidated by the quantity of chillies, deseed the chillies used for making the chilli paste.

Once the chicken is marinated and the chilli paste is ready, we proceed to cooking the Andhra Style Chilli Chicken. For this, take a heavy bottomed pan and cover and cook the marinated chicken along with the sliced onions on a medium-low flame. Use a lot of onions and sweat them well. The sweetness from the onions is needed to counter the heat from the chillies. When the chicken is about 75% cooked, add the chilli paste, give it a good mix and continue to cook on an open flame until the excess moisture dries off.

A tart component is a must to balance the heat. So, as the gravy begins to thicken and dry out, add some lemon juice. check the salt and add more if needed. Cook for a couple of minutes and take it off the flame. Done! Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot! The Andhra Style Chilli Chicken will make you sweat and it may make you cry and it will definitely clear out your sinuses but you will definetely keep coming back for more. Enjoy!

Please do note that, I used Cayenne Peppers (Red & Yellow coloured) while cooking this dish as that is what I had readily available with me. Hence, the colour of the dish in the picture is leaning towards a greenish-yellow shade. the bright natural light makes it appear a shade lighter too. Also, the quantity of turmeric plays its part too. If this dish is made using Green Chillies, expect it to appear olive green in colour.